Bret Hart pens tell all book

[habernac]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Does anyone know when the paperback version comes out? I want to read it but am not willing to buy the hard copy version

Thanks!

it's usually the better part of a year before that happens.

[CaptainCrunch]

Really sad in a lot of ways, and a pretty damning indictment about the concept that money can buy you happiness.

I was a huge Bret Hart fan growing up and watching stampede Wrestling. I remember watching early matches with him in the WWE when he was an enhancement talent, and I remember Hart and Niedhart debuting as the Hart Foundation with Jimmy Hart. I remember the wars between the Foundation and the British Bulldogs, including the match where the foundation won the tag team belts after Dynamite Kids injury forced Davy Boy Smith to carry him to the ring on his back.

I remember reading all of Harts columns in the Sun, and the Montreal Incident, and his debut in WCW. Then sadly seeing his career decline not because of age, but because Eric Bishop destroyed his legacy by wasting what could have been a series of dream matches with a naturally made story.

I also remember chating with Hart at a couple of Hitman games, and coming away in shock at how shy he seemed to be in public.

I remember his stroke, and his comeback. I remember one of his last good matches against Chris Benoit after Owen Hart died.

There are a lot of good memories about Bret Hart, but now there are a lot of smears. I remember reading a column that Hart wrote about the Dynamite Kid after the Kid released his book accusing Hart of using crack and cocaine and not being the angel that everyone thought that he was. Hart denied it at the time, I guess that was a lie.

I remember watching the exceptional documentary Wrestling with Shadows that portrayed Hart as a total family guy, with a wife that he was faithful to, and a wife that defended Bret no matter what. It turns out that it was a lie. I remember in that movie how reverantly he treated his father, how he talked about how great his father was, sounds like he's changed his story on that too. I remember all of the WWE story lines about how close the Hart clan was, but it turns out that the Hart family was just as dysfunctional as Diane Hart wrote about in her book Under the Ring.

Here's hoping that Hart coming clean about everything will allow him to put his demons to rest, and allow him to get on with the rest of his life.

He once wrote in one of his columns that all hero's die in the end, and he's proven that with this book. As a hero, Bret Hart is pretty much dead, and we see in the end that he was just a flawed human being, no more and no less.

Its knda sad.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I remember watching the exceptional documentary Wrestling with Shadows that portrayed Hart as a total family guy, with a wife that he was faithful to, and a wife that defended Bret no matter what. It turns out that it was a lie. I remember in that movie how reverantly he treated his father, how he talked about how great his father was, sounds like he's changed his story on that too. I remember all of the WWE story lines about how close the Hart clan was, but it turns out that the Hart family was just as dysfunctional as Diane Hart wrote about in her book Under the Ring.

Good write-up. I remember watching that too, thats when I was huge into wrestling back in the day. Actually me and two of my buddies got tickets to watch the initial screening at the IMAX at Eau Claire. It was like $25 or somethin and you got a ticket, free food and drinks beforehand, and got to meet all the Harts, including Bret of course, who were there(plus tons of family members. On a side note, all the Hart daughters are smokin hot!). Anyways, when I talked to alot of the Harts(Owen, Bret, Stu, Jim Neidhart), I just came away with the impression that somethin was up. All of them seemed so down I felt.

And even in that movie some things seemed a little strange. There were a couple scenes when Bret was just b****** at his wife for no reason(ie the pink shirt thing). Of course it was nothing more than normal husband/wife bickering, but I guess in hindsight maybe there was something to it.

[habernac]

Amazing how some people can lay it all down on the table like this. I couldn't write something like this (then again, my life isn't all that interesting either). Kudos to Bret, who is only human afterall.

[mac_gurl]

I've ordered the book too. My bf was a huge wrestling fan, and i thought he'd enjoy this. I'm just as eager to read it though. It sounds like a good read.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by habernac

Amazing how some people can lay it all down on the table like this. I couldn't write something like this (then again, my life isn't all that interesting either). Kudos to Bret, who is only human afterall.

There might well be nothing that requires more courage than to face your own demons. To do it in public is pretty amazing.

[Ro]

Saw it today at Costco for $20 if anybody is looking for it at a good price.

[CaptainCrunch]

I picked up this book last week and just finished it today, and thought I would give some thoughts on it, just in case any of you is looking at buying this book.

Its an exceptional book, but be prepared because its not your average wrestler or athletes autobiography.

Unlike Mick Foley's two exceptional books which had a more positive spin on the wrestling business, or the Dynomite Kids book which was depressing, mean spirited and oddly funny, Bret Harts book falls into the middle.

The big surprise for me, was how well written this book was, and what a great story teller Bret Hart is.

Esentially this book is split into three sections, the first deals with Bret Harts upbringing in the Hart household with his brothers and sisters, a gruff father and a mother who really didn't want to cause troubles. Hart does elude to the fact that his father wasn't afraid to raise his hands against his children, talking about how he hit his brother Dean in the back of the head so hard that Dean was cross eyed for several minutes. But you don't get the sense that Stu Hart was an abusive parent, he was old school having suffered through a hard life. Bret also tells the story of the day that he felt he finally got respect from his dad, as the last day that his father ever raised a hand to him. Sadly the glamourous life of being a member of the first family of pro wrestling never translated to the life of luxury and wealth that you would expect as Bret carefully talks about how his family wore worn out clothes, drove older cars and were basically dirt poor.

From there Hart talks about his experiences in Stampede Wrestling, and in Germany Japan and other places. He talks about his rough matches with the Dynamite Kid, the Rough and sometimes mean Bad New Allen, and how Bruce Hart nearly booked Stampede Wrestling into oblivion.

From there you get into the purchase of Stampede Wrestling by Vince McMahon, and how originally Bret Hard was called Buddy the Love God then he was suppossed to be Cowboy Bret Hart before being put into a tag team with his brother in Law Jim Niedhart. This section would be about the rise of Bret Hart. At this point you get a real insider point of view of the world of wrestling, from the back stage politics to the unapologetic habits of life on the road. Make no mistake, Bret Hart was no angel outside of the ring, he openly talks about his steroid use, heavy drinking, cocaine use and his habitual cheating on his wife. Even though Bret was proud to talk about his life and his successes in the ring, your heart breaks a little as he talks about his problems with his family both immediate and married outside of the ring.

Finally you get into the third section which goes into the death of the Hitman Character. From Vince McMahon's dishonesty, to the encouragment of Brett to go get a new contract with WCW. He gives painful testimony on the Montreal Screwjob afterwards, to his hopes for the WCW, and how Vince was right "The WCW will never know how to use you". The book gets absolutely cringe worthy when it goes into detail about the kick from Goldberg that ended Harts career, to the concussion that followed him for more then a year, to the horrible stroke that changed him forever and killed off the Hitman character.

Brett then goes into what must be the hardest part of the book when he talks about the death of his brother Owen, his dealings with his siblings which is a terrible thing to read, the death of his parents, his fight for his life insurance settlement, the end of his first and second marriage, and his realization that he isn't really part of the Hart family anymore.

Make no mistake. This book is heartbreaking, sad and funny, and it reads like a person making a confession and trying to remove a weight from his shoulders. His dislike of Shawn Michaels is really prevelent in this book, as is his final acceptance and gratitude towards Vince McMahon who it sounds like really helped Hart during his recovery through encouragment and regular phonecalls.

It would have been easy for Hart to write a book as vindictive and heavy handed as the book written by his sister, but he didn't do that. What you get is a book thats really a facinating look at what happens behind the curtain and in the ring.

There are several funny stories.

Did you know, that the Hart foundation used to hold hands and skip to their ring entrace as a lark to the boys in the back, and would instantly switch into character.

Bret Hart was so frightened of public speaking that he started wearing sunglasses in all of his interviews.

The SharpShooter was actually invented by TNA wrestler Conan.

[lowlife_mike]

i think's it's a great book. i'm almost finished it, and liked the book alot. the best stuff for me was reading about his early WWF years. back when the hart foundation and the british bulldogs broke into the WWF.

the book was originally 1600 pages, and was edited back to 533 pages. i'd love to read all 1600 pages.

the dynamite kid's book was a bit harsh. he has always been my favorite wrestler, but his book ruins this a bit for me. the dynamite kid was great, tom billington was not.

[underGRADFlame]

I just finished reading the book today. It was a very good read and i recommend it to anyone that was ever a far of wrestling or someone who just wants a good read.
It's so sad to read how the Hart family torn it's self apart with all the in fighting, but with 12 siblings I guess not everyone can get along.
Bret always was one of my favorite wrestlers when i was growing up, so to hear what was going on behind the scenes is very eye opening. I hope writing this book has given Bret some closure on some of his past demons.

On a side note, Chris Jericho just released his book about his time before the WWE, might pick that one up too.

[The Familia]

Funny, I also just finished reading the book this morning. I couldn't put the thing down and spent many nights up late reading it. The book is very well written and worthy of an award. As a one-time die-hard wrestling fanatic this book brought back many memories both good and bad. An excellent book well worth the $35.

[Mightyfire89]

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book and have to agree, this is an excellent read. Definitely brings back a lot of memories from my childhood when I was a huge fan of Stampede wrestling. I think the thing that's most striking to me is the tragedy that Tom Billington (The Dynamite Kid, my absolute favourite wrestler when I was young) ended up bringing on himself. Very sad.

Bret comes across as brutally honest and surprisingly self deprecating at times.

What a great book.

Up next, The Heroin Diaries.

[ricoFlame]

just finished reading this book. i can't stand wrestling, but when i was growing up i was a big fan. i couldn't put this book down, great read. would highly recommend.

[Freeway]

I must echo the huge recommendation for the book. Chris Jericho's book is also supposed to be great. And he's also a really nice guy, if that sways anyone.

[habernac]

wow, just finished it a few minutes ago. Amazing read, so much information. What a messed up family the Harts are. Greed does crazy stuff to people. Not sure why anyone would ever want to join the travesty that pro wrestling is. The drug abuse, the insane travel schedule, the loneliness. At least hockey players get an off season.

Looking at all the pictures in the book, it's crazy to think that half of them are dead. I was happy to read that a lot of the wrestlers who I thought were decent guys actually are. Not too surprising who the snakes turned out to be.

Anyone who even casually followed wrestling in the 80's will love this book.

[Bench Warmer]

Originally Posted by Freeway

I must echo the huge recommendation for the book. Chris Jericho's book is also supposed to be great. And he's also a really nice guy, if that sways anyone.

I'm currently only a 1/4 of the way through Jericho's book but so far it is fantastic. I have laughed out loud in every chapter (some of Jericho's one-liners are hilarious) - I'll post more when I finish it but so far, it is the best book I have read in a very long time. And if it matters to anyone, I follow and have followed wrestling for years but am not a big fan - I can't remember the last time I sat down and watched more than 15 minutes straight...

[flames_1987]

I started reading today and had to stop myself at page 350 or else I'd get nothing done tonight. Being a little younger then some of you, I started watching Brett right around the time he started his feud with Owen and there steel cage match. Not really knowing much about Stampede Wrestling, I truly appreciate it now after reading this book. Just like many of you, I turned wrestling off for good around the time Brett left the WWF, this truly brings back some amazing memories though. I'm looking forward to the second half of the book, one of my favorite moments has to be when the Hart Foundation got back together and there entire anti-america storyline.

[CMPunk]

Both books were excellent. Bret's more for the detail and history and the truth about the behind the scenes things. Jericho is a great story teller and makes you laugh out loud at the things he's done

[Buff]

I'm 3/4 of the way through Jericho's book. I am thoroughly enjoying it. Jericho is very funny and a great story teller. It isn't a serious read but a fun light hearted read.

I'm still laughing at the referee who left his drink unattended while he went to the bathroom... again.

I got both books for Christmas and I can't wait to get into Bret's book.

[flames_1987]

Just finshed the book, and wow, one of the best reads I've read in a while. I don't think we'll ever see a book like this before from someone of Bretts stature in the wresting world.

After reading it, Hogan still comes off as the ego maniac he always has been. He's got one heck of a messed up family himself.